Interview & HUGE Contest with Author Mario Acevedo

With so many gals in the Paranormal Urban Fantasy genre it is always nice to have the guys come out to play. So this week I am very happy to have author Mario Acevedo back here on Amberkatze's Book Blog.

Mario's new release Werewolf Smackdown is a brilliant read. I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole Felix Gomez Series so far and can highly recommend the books to both the girls and the guys!

Read the interview to find out more about Mario and then make sure you enter the contest. Mario, with the help of the authors at the League of Reluctant Adults, has been extremely generous and there are a few prize packages on offer! Actually I don't think Amberkatze's Book Blog has ever had so many super prizes on offer before!



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Amber - Welcome back to Amberkatze's Book Blog!

It is great to see you here again! Book five in the Felix Gomez series just came out and I loved it. Can you maybe start things off by telling my readers a bit about WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN?

Mario - It’s Felix Gomez’s latest adventure. In WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN, Felix gets trapped between rival lycanthrope clans in Charleston, SC, and the impending rumble could doom the supernatural world.

Amber - Felix has seen a lot of paranormal creatures so far. How do you decide what to throw at him in each book?

Mario - Great question. The supernatural world is huge. Once I figure what kind of trouble I want Felix to get into, I scheme with the other supernatural creatures to bust his chops.

Amber - Will there be more books in the series? How long would you like to see things continue for Felix? Do you see an end in sight?

Mario - Right now I’ve got a comic book deal to spin off Felix into new adventures. Felix is going to Hong Kong to fight a Chinese drug smuggling gang who proves more vicious than he expected. KILLING THE COBRA Issue #1 will be available in late April from IDW Publishing.

Amber - How do you pick the names of your characters? Are they just names you like, people you know or do they have some other meaning?

Mario - Another great question. I like to keep the names interesting and reflect the region the book is set in or the personality of the character. How could you not love a forest sprite named Wendy Teagarden?

Amber - What kind of research have you had to do for the books so far? Anything interesting or is research boring?

Mario - I visited the places I’ve set my stories in. As X-RATED BLOODSUCKERS was my L.A. noir story, I stayed for a while in La La Land. For the UNDEAD KAMA SUTRA I cruised about Hilton Head Island. On that trip I left from the Savannah Airport and realized that I had to set a story in a southern Gothic City, which turned out to be Charleston SC for WEREWOLF SMACKDOWN. For JAILBAIT ZOMBIE I prowled the rural digs of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado, a perfect setting for the revenant undead.

Amber - How much input do you get in the publication of your books? For example, do you have a say in what the covers look like?

Mario - My editor and I work closely in the development of the manuscript. As for the covers, I get 100% approval; when my publishers shows me a cover, I get to say that I like the cover 100%.

Amber - Are you working on any other projects you would like to tell us about?

Mario - I’m pitching new stories to my agent, a hard boiled noir thriller and a YA witch story. Plus I’m writing scripts for the comic books.

Amber - You run a blog with author Jeanne C. Stein *waves to Jeanne*. How did that come about? How do you come up with the content?

Mario - The fabulous Marta Acosta invited Jeanne and me to join her on the Biting-Edge. Since then, Marta has decided to go her own way in the blogoshere at VampireWire. If she ever decides to return, we’ve saved her office though it’s currently stacked full of old blogs. The way we decide on content is that we Jello wrestle to see whose idea gets blogged. I would usually win but Jeanne fights dirty, really dirty.

Amber - There are so many online sites eg, Twitter, Face book, my space etc. to get in touch with fans. Which sites are you signed up with? Is it hard to keep up with them all? Do you think they are worth the time?

Mario - I’m used to be more active on MySpace but have migrated to Facebook. I do use Twitter with the handle of AdelanteArts (my art website). Are they worth the time? It’s part of the BSP (Blatant Self Promotion) we authors are expected to do.

Amber - What books, films and TV series have you been enjoying lately?

Mario - Books? BATTLE OF THE NETWORK ZOMBIES by Mark Henry. YELLOW RAFT ON BLUE WATER by Michael Dorris. Films and TV? Season Two and Three of MAD MEN. UP IN THE AIR. CRAZY HEART. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.

Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you be and why?

Mario - A specter so I could pop out of closets and scare people, especially newlyweds on their honeymoon.

Amber - Thank you for being a guest again on Amberkatze's Book Blog! Good luck with the new release and make sure you stop by again!

Mario - Drop by my website on March 23 for the special two-day promo of Werewolf Smackdown.

http://www.marioacevedo.com

Happy fanging!





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Contest Time

This week there are FIVE prizes and they have all been donated by Mario Acevedo and the other Reluctant Adults! So a huge thank you to them all!

Here are the prizes five people will win in this weeks contest :

Prize 1 - TEMPEST RISING by Nicole Peeler, CROSS YOUR HEART by Michele Bardley

Prize 2 - MIND GAMES by Carolyn Crane, GREYWALKER by Kat Richardson

Prize 3 - ACCIDENTALLY DEMONIC by Dakota Cassidy, THE BECOMING by Jeanne Stein

Prize 4 - A double book set from Diana Rowland. MARK OF THE DEMON and BLOOD OF THE DEMON.

Prize 5 - $50 Barnes & Noble gift card, ARC of X-RATED BLOODSUCKERS and JAILBAIT ZOMBIE by Mario Acevedo

How to enter

Now these are great prizes so I have to make you all work a little here. So to enter the contest this week you have to tell us which actor you think could play Felix Gomez if the series ever went on the big screen?

No actor - no entry

Earn more entries for each place you link this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.

Keep the contests going by using the Amazon links below and around the site!





The contest will stay open until Sunday 21st of March 2010 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

Good Luck!